War of the Ring Interview with Ed Del Castillo at GameZone

A session looking at Liquid Entertainment's real-time strategy title based on the popular Tolkien trilogy

By IGN Staff

The latest War of the Ring interview to come our way has these comments from Ed Del Castillo on the hardest or most difficult aspect of creating a game based on the writings of Tolkien:

The biggest challenge in making an RTS based on LOTR was the very medieval approach that Tolkien took to the battles themselves. Although there are always exceptions, most of the combatants are similarly armed and armored. If we were trying to create a game like the ones in the Total War Series (fine games I might add) this would have been grand, but we are trying for unit individuality and uniqueness so that posed a challenge. We've found a good mix of unit uniqueness with only tiny stretches in the Tolkien universe.

Sometimes the chronology of events posed a challenge as well. For example, a particular mission might seem perfect to insert the Legolas unit into, but at that moment in time Legolas was halfway across the map participating in an entirely different battle! So for each mission, we have to consider the time it takes place, where it takes place, and what characters/races can actually be there at that time and place. On top of that, the game needs to ramp up in difficulty appropriately and flow well from mission to mission. It has been a huge challenge, the design team constantly struggles to make a game that is fun and that at the same time does not betray the story of LOTR.

Liquid Entertainment's game will allow you to play the forces of good or evil. Among many other features, character units will gain both experience and visual enhancements through success in battle. - Jonric